First, You Have To Grow A Spine
     I am saddened to learn of the death of Mary Benedict. As a graduate of IU, Mary epitomized the IU journalism experience for me. I had attended two HSJI workshops as a high school student and from then on there was never a doubt in my mind that I would attend IU and become a journalism adviser. I remember Mary saying to her students, “If you want to become a journalism adviser you have to grow a spine.” I think, perhaps, that was a lesson Mary was good at teaching: You have to know when to stand firm although you can still have a soft side underneath. That, to me, was Mary. She could be tough and demanding, yet she was unsurpassed at taking you under her wing and helping you succeed. Many, many memories of undergraduate years and summers spent at HSJI are due to Mary. I know many of us still share favorable stories about those summers at HSJI. A true icon of journalism, Mary Benedict will be missed.

--Julie (Marcinek) Elston
Crown Point High School newspaper adviser

Big Shoes to Fill
     At the "celebration of life" services for Mary Benedict in Indianapolis April 22, many of her former students and colleagues commented on how powerfully Mary touched their lives. Indeed, she was a major influence on people's professional and personal lives. That is especially true for me and my family. Mary's influence brought us from Iowa City to Bloomington nearly 18 years ago upon her retirement from the Indiana University School of Journalism -- and the High School Journalism Institute that she so capably directed for 13 years. I soon learned that those little loafers of hers were very big shoes to fill. For several years before coming to IU I had been impressed with Mary's accomplishments in scholastic journalism. She had been both the state and national journalism teacher of the year -- and she had been honored by the Journalism Education Association and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication with many of their top honors. Her professional reach went far beyond her wonderful accomplishments as a high school and university educator and workshop director. She shared her great ideas, enthusiasm and energy with so many of us...and her legacy lives on through the many students and colleagues she so enthusiastically influenced. Though small in stature, she was a true giant in our field.

--Jack Dvorak
Director, High School Journalism Institute
Professor, School of Journalism
Indiana University

A Wonderful Ambassador
     In the fall of 1972, I was an English major at I.U. taking a beginning journalism course as an elective. My professor, whom I had never met, was Mary Benedict. Since there happened to be a rather major news event occurring in 1972 (Watergate!), Mary began meeting individually with class members to discuss the Washington Post articles and our perceptions of what the events might mean in our lives. From those discussions with Mary, I grew from a rather disinterested journalism student to a passionate free press advocate! I was amazed at the amount of time she would invest making sure each student had the opportunity to explore the issues and understand their meaning. From that one journalism class, I added a journalism minor to my degree and completed my master's in journalism at I.U. in 1997. I have advised publications since 1976, and I am in a job I adore because of Mary Benedict's influence. She was a wonderful ambassador for scholastic journalism.

--Nikki Davis, English Department Chair/Publications Adviser
Westfield High School, Westfield, IN

Celebrating Mary's Life
     Mary thought funerals were too sad. For some time she had said that when she died there would be a party instead. Although many who attended the "celebration of Mary's life" last week were sad despite Mary's orders, it was an opportunity for her students, colleagues, friends, and family to share stories about someone who made many of the people she met reach higher and try harder whether it was for a publication, a teaching assignment, or a volunteer project. This community sharing provided one more lesson that could be titled: "One person can make a difference."

--Diana Hadley, adviser
Mooresville High School

Truly A Gift To Us All
    In my early days of teaching, I didn't know much, but I thought I knew that if you were from I.U., you were with Mary Benedict and if you were from Ball State, you were not. Later on as I came to know Mary through different journalism events and conferences, I realized that this "journalism urban legend" was not set in stone. In fact, the spunk, independence, opinions, strength and character in Mary were qualities I greatly admired. When I think "Mary" I see her shoving up those sleeves and running her fingers through her hair as she was finding the right words to drive home her points. Although I could never be Mary myself, I now find myself shoving up my own shirt sleeves and running my own fingers through my graying hair as I search for what to say.
      Mary once gave me a little carved red cardinal magnet she made that is still on my refrigerator door - perhaps as a symbol of freedom and of all that is right and beautiful in this world. Whenever we met, we talked of her visits to Italy, and of upcoming bike trips and adventures she was planning. There was no retirement for Mary as she searched and volunteered for hundreds of activities that would help promote the cause of scholastic journalism in our own state and across the nation. Mary was truly a gift to us all, and her enthusiasm and support of journalism will not soon be forgotten. But even more importantly, her love of life and of others in it will be her great legacy to remember and live by.

-- Terry Nelson, adviser and journalism teacher
Muncie Central High School

That Was Mary Benedict
     I guess my outstanding memory of Mary was the summer that our daughter Allison was born--July 1986. She was two months early, and I had just started week two of four weeks at HSJI. Mary sent for me and sat me down to give me the news and to make sure that I was composed enough to make the two and a half hour trip to the hospital in Richmond. On the way back to I.U. for the final week of HSJI, my car broke down. So I had a daughter, my first child, just home from Riley hospital, and an old used car in the shop. While I was gone, Mary organized a baby shower with the rest of the workshop faculty. All of this right in the middle of a typically hectic summer journalism workshop. That was Mary. Then, to top it all off, I opened my paycheck when I got back to Hagerstown, and Mary had paid me for the entire four weeks even though I was only able to work two weeks. When I asked her about it later, she said, "With a new baby and a broken down car in the shop, I knew you needed it, and you earned it." That was Mary Benedict. Like all of the people she touched, I miss her already.

--Dan Diercks, Hagerstown High School

Don't Make It Your Entire Life
     I hadn't heard about Mary until your email tonight.  She was an inspiration to so many.  I first met her as a student at the IU HSJI in 1980.  Later, I was lucky enough to have her as my faculty adviser at the IU School of Journalism and to be in the final class she taught at IU.  I also worked as an assistant for her in her final summer as the director of HSJI as well as a counselor during the month of workshops.  Mary taught me so much.  She could be blunt, gruff, loving, cheerful and full of mischief.  She was a legend and a wonderful mentor.  She was wonderful at encouraging future journalism educators. The most powerful bit of advice she ever gave me was to "find a life outside of journalism too.  Don't make it your entire life," she told me before I graduated from IU in 1987.  Coming from someone like Mary, who lived her life as she did, it is advice I've taken to heart.  She will be missed, and we must do something to preserve her memory for future journalism educators.
 
--Susan Jerrell
Scottsburg High School

That Was Mary Benedict
     My earliest memory of Mary Benedict involves her feet and the roof of Reed Hall at Indiana University. I was a 17-year-old attending the two-week HSJI workshop under the direction of drill sergeant Mary Benedict. Short in stature but as loud as any 6' man, Mary made us "snap to" (interpret as quit flirting and return to work) when she walked through the only air conditioned spot available to us, the Reed common area. In fact, a group of girls from Kentucky composed a song dedicated to Mary that started out "Penny loafers on the feet of Mary Benedict. Thick white socks around her ankles make me quake..." I can hum the tune, but I can't remember any more of that song. I also remember the lecture when Mary caught my roommate Jamie and I soaking up rays on the roof. I was dumbfounded when she let my roommate go and sat me down in the staircase. Then, she explained in no uncertain terms that newspaper editors as well as IHSPA student presidents were expected to be leaders and that even though no rule stated that students weren't supposed to be on the roof, I should have known. That ten-minute chat in the stairwell was my first conversation with this amazing woman, and I thank God that conversation never really ended as she continued to share her wisdom, her humor and her perspective on "the way things ought to be" for the next 20 years.
 
––Denise Roberts, Greenwood Community High School

Mary 'Benedickey'
     I was so sorry to hear about Mary Benedict's death. I thought of her as a mentor. She, Ann Herlong and I drove from San Francisco to Corvallis, Oregan, in 1983 when she was head of the Secondary Education Division of AEJMC. We were on our way to my first AEJMC convention. What an education for me! Later she came to South Carolina speaking to classes and scholastic journalism events. She spent the night with us Dickeys more than 20 years ago, and my toddler son renamed her Mary Benedickey. We will miss her.

--Beth Dickey, associate professor, School of Journalism and Mass
Communications, University of South Carolina and Executive Director, SIPA

She Kept Kids Captivated
     Such sad news to read about Mary's death on the JEA listserve... (part of the drawbacks of living so far for Indy is we don't get state news very quickly...) It's impossible to think about Indiana scholastic journalism and not think about Mary Benedict.  She certainly ranks with the best of the icons.  I remember starting out as a young adviser and being afraid of the woman - you didn't want to be in her "bad" graces because she could/would whip you into shape!  But her energy, her enthusiasm and her love of good journalism and kids was infectious.  She could run circles around any of us.  Even as she got older, she could still grasp kids' attention and keep them captivated with her stories, her journalistic goals and her lessons.  She will be missed.
 
--Nancy Hastings, journalism teacher and adviser
Munster High School

A Great Teacher, Mentor
     I was very saddened to hear of Mary Benedict's passing. She was a great teacher, a great mentor to many of us, and a great inspiration to anyone working with student journalists.

--Edmund J. Sullivan
Director, CSPA
Columbia University

One Of The True Giants
     Mary Benedict was one of the true visionaries of scholastic journalism. She was one of our earliest leaders to explore the effects of computers on the profession (I'm talking early 1980s). She was also unfailingly gracious and kind. She must have personally mentored hundreds of young advisers. Her mind was relentlessly curious and provocative. I echo Ed's thoughts, and thank Dennis for sharing the sad news. My sympathy goes out to the many Hoosiers who today are grieving and, I hope, celebrating a life well-lived. Mary Benedict should stand forever as one of the true giants of scholastic journalism.

--Jack Kennedy
JEA Vice President

A Great Teacher and Organizer
     Yearbook alumni of Ft. Atkinson High School will remember and revere Mary Benedict as a great teacher and organizer. My students, who attended the Indiana workshops with Mary as director, loved her,
respected her and marveled that when she walked through the dorm halls late at night, quiet fell among those tired journalists. She did so much for the young journalists she met--and for their advisers who knew how much the kids respected her. Thanks, Mary.

--Jan Kohls, former yearbook adviser--Ft. Atkinson High School (WI)
now executive director, Kettle Moraine Press Association

An Icon In Scholastic Journalism
    I'm in Texas teaching a workshop, and I just now learned of Mary Benedict's death. She will be missed. She was certainly an icon in scholastic journalism. She did so much to promote the profession and to strengthen scholastic journalism across the nation. Her death is indeed sad.

--H. L. Hall, director
Tennessee Scholastic Press Association

Just What Journalism Needed
    Thanks for passing this news on to me, even if it's sad. I'm glad to hear it from you. Mary was just the type of person scholastic journalism needed, especially in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. I'm glad I had the chance to know her. Our last visit with her was in 1998 during the IHSPA convention, and I was so glad to see she was still Mary (her usual self). If you get any additional information, even an obit, I'd appreciate getting it (although I'll probably go online and get one from
an Indy paper). Again, thanks.

--Bruce Konkle, former director of SCSPA
Professor, University of South Carolina

Life With Dogged Determination
     I was deeply saddened to learn of Mary's death. She was an icon of Indiana scholastic journalism-- adamant in maintaining high standards and pursuing professional life with dogged determination. We have lost a vital link to our past. I, too, will miss her. Naturally, I support whatever we can do as an organization to sustain her legacy in addition to sending condolences to her family and friends. My enduring memory of Mary will always be the winter a few years ago when she climbed over that Santa train to get to the coffeeshop. That's how she approached life ... with focus, gusto, and a little bit of fun. May I suggest an initial conversation on Saturday as to how we may both honor her memory and continue her legacy at the convention and in t he future? Your all in my thoughts today.

--Michael Frazier
Publications Adviser
Hanover Central High School

Remember the Spring
   When good people depart, it definitely is a reminder of our mortality. There is so much that scholastic journalism enjoys today because of Mary Benedict. I am reminded of the Chinese proverb, "When you drink the water, remember the spring." Like a spring, Mary was always just there...flowing with ideas. She was the type of person and force you think and hope would go on forever. Everyone has a Mary Benedict story, and I guess I will relate mine.
     It didn't take me long to hear about Mary Benedict right after I became a Jostens rep in 1975. There were several people I knew I had to meet,  and Mary was at the top of that short list. It had taken me a year or so to build my territory from 11 schools to 25, and I thought I was pretty  hot stuff. I don't remember where Mary and I finally met, but I do remember what she said: First, "So you're the guy who took over for Bill Wright?" and second, "So how many schools do you have?" Quite full of myself and expecting a response of shock and awe I replied, "Twenty-five!" Mary said, "You'll never make a living with that." I left our meeting a lot more humble than when I had arrived but also with a lot more than just the realization that I was going to have to at least redouble my efforts...for it was at that meeting that I formulated the strategy that would help me sign those 50  additional schools. It was a simple formula, based soley on Mary's advice: help my advisers succeed. It worked.
     I hope heaven is ready for her, because things are 'gonna be different up there from now on.
Your friend,

-- Dick Maurer

She Was Full of Enthusiasm
Thank you for sharing this sad news with us. I was last with Mary at the Quill and Scroll board meeting at the University of Iowa in October. She was full of enthusiasm and ideas -- future bike rides, the newsletters
she was editing.

--Julie E. Dodd
3068 Weimer Hall
College of Journalism and Communications
University of Florida

Mary Lifted Pride, Self-Esteem
       Today, as a former student at Washington High School, I look back at the POST yearbook and the SURVEYOR newspaper that Mary advised and see how far advanced these publication were for the late 50's time period. The yearbook had column structure with a caption for each photo - not the norm for that
time period. One book had a sound sheet with the sounds of homecoming, athletic events, etc. tucked into a pocket on the endsheet. The yearbook always has a double page spread on fads and fashions. Mary was indeed a pioneer..."
      Mary, through her publications and general attitude around school, uplifted the pride and self esteem of a pretty poor bunch of near Westside kids. She had a way of making us feel GWHS was a very special place and we should be grateful to be receiving a first class education.
     The yearbook and newspaper (class rings, graduation announcements, letter sweaters, etc.) are all part of high school tradition. We have witnessed a drop in YB subscriptions. I would venture to say some of it may be due to the lack of Mary Benedicts out there stoking the school pride we enjoyed.

--Larry Glaze
Area Manager
Herff Jones Yearbooks

A Generous Offer
     I saw Mary Benedict's obituary on the IndyStar.com Web site today. I imagine you were well acquainted with her. I remember her from the high school yearbook workshop I attended at IU during the summer of '74. That weeklong event was a bittersweet experience.
      I was thrilled to be able to attend (thanks to you), but it all came crashing down a few days into the workshop when the school's camera that I was using was stolen. I was about to pack up and have my dad pick me up early. Somehow or another, Mary heard about my plan to leave. She generously lent her own camera to me so that I could finish the workshop. In 1981, I won a first-place award for news photos among weekly newspapers from the Hoosier State Press Association, and Mary was at the event. I had no idea she even remembered me, but she congratulated me and asked me, "Aren't you glad you stayed?" Indeed I was.
I hope all is well with you.
Regards,

-- Dan Burnette
8014 West Windrose Drive
Peoria, Arizona 85381-9028

A True Legend
      Thank you so much for your eloquent messages to both IHSPA and JEA about Mary, especially in your own grief. I am collecting these both for me personally and for use as a tribute to her. I agree with Jim, and I
am sure, everyone else. We will devote some time to pay tribute to Mary both now and in the future on Saturday.
     I loved Mary. She will always represent the kind of woman I want to be both personally and professionally. Although I knew her through reputation longer than I knew her personally, I feel blessed to have had the chance to be included in the recent work she did for IHSPA and all of scholastic journalism. She is a true legend.

--Kim Green, president
Indiana High School Press Association

Mary As A Consensus Builder
     Mary Benedict was a tireless advocate for a free and responsible students press. But she also understood that the student press is not an island and needs to work in partnership with school administrators to build the best journalism experience. Mary was a consensus builder in many respects. She had the ability to get students to think beyond themselves, to consider the impact of their work, and to understand that good student journalists are also good citizens of the school. She also was able to convince school officials of the need to let student journalists make honest mistakes in their pursuit of the truth. "We applaud the final curtain despite mistakes made in the spring musical," she would say. Mary was able to get advisers, students and administrators to see journalism education as a process and not just a product. I believe that is her legacy.

--Dennis Cripe, director
Indiana High School Press Association

She Was One Of A Kind
      That about sums it up, especially the "relentlessly curious and provocative" part. She really could fire up a room, too, when she talked about journalism with her own brand of passion and drama. I'll never forget listening to her as a high school student (and we both know I've forgotten quite a bit of that!) talk about journalistic values and reporting methods, "bellying up to bar," as she liked to say and getting a good interview. I really count her (and you) as the most influential people in journalism I've ever known, because she was there, making a difference, at such an impressionable age. I feel so privileged to have known her during that era of excellence at IU. I'm interested in attending her funeral because I feel like I know
quite about Mary Benedict the scholastic journalism giant, but I bet there are people from The Garden who know her more recently, as a seeker, or Gardener, as she referred to herself and other members of
that congregation. She really was one of a kind.

--Alicia
(Daughter of Janice Dean
former adviser at Elkhart Memorial High School)